Snapchat Unveils New Set of Smart Sunglasses
Fresh off the heels of Snapchat's rebrand announcement as Snap Inc., the company has unveiled its first hardware product in the form of a pair of smart sunglasses.
Named "Spectacles," this new pair of glasses allows users to capture 10-second short videos from their perspective and post them automatically via Snapchat. In order to make it work, you will need to connect the sunglass wirelessly to your mobile phone to enable a smooth transition of the vids to Snapchat.
Priced at $129.99 - a huge difference from Google Glass' $1,500 price tag, this new product will be launched with a retro-esque look and will be made available in different colors (teal, coral, or black).
Following the rebrand and the release of the Spectacles, Greylock Partners' John Elman spoke with CNBC and voiced out his thoughts regarding this new venture.
"I think Snapchat is pushing the edges of what the camera is. I think their brand is so strong with people in their early 20s that they might sell a lot more of these than anybody is predicting. ... They're positioning it as this fun toy for people to engage with, not something that you need to think about as your next big technology investment."
However, some people have already extended their concerns regarding possible surveillance issues the Spectacles might pose.
"Very interested to see if new privacy and surveillance issues in the workplace and at schools arise from Snapchat Spectacles," American lawyer Tremecca Ross commented. Another Twitter user posted that using the device is tantamount to "24/7 inescapable surveillance."
Nevertheless, Snap Inc.'s latest move is one step closer to the company's goal of figuring out how the app figures out into people's daily lives.
As Snap Inc. CEO Evan Spiegel mused during an interview with the Wall Street Journal, "It's about us figuring out if it fits into people's lives and seeing how they like it."
